Posts
Nathan Bransford had an excellent article,
VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN CULTURE:
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/07/violence-in-american-culture.html
As Nathan says, there is a lot of violence in today's YA.
And the echoes of the gunshots and screams from that movie theater in Colorado murmur a question:
What do we endorse in our fiction?
Could movies like HOSTEL and SAW have been shown to nationwide audiences just decades ago?
Have we become desensitized to violence, to maiming helpless victims, to drive-by shootings in film?
The vigilante is the new HOT hero, especially if the crusader is a kick-ass woman in leather and stilleto heels.
Look at the covers of my two latest books, RITES OF PASSAGE (Now at #6!):
http://www.amazon.com/RITES-OF-PASSAGE-ebook/dp/B004XQVPYM
BURNT OFFERINGS:
http://www.amazon.com/BURNT-OFFERINGS-ebook/dp/B008N4QGA8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1343272025&sr=1-1&keywords=BURNT+OFFERINGS+ROLAND+YEOMANS
I tried for subdued hints of violence and mystery. It is a truth of human nature: we are drawn to the forbidden and the sensual.
The mysterious Greek physician, Lucanus, and Captain Samuel McCord are both reflective protagonists, chaffing at the violence and darkness in the hearts of those around them.
Luke Skywalker would not be so interesting without the ominous Darth Vadar.
Look at the cover of THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH:
http://www.amazon.com/THE-LEGEND-VICTOR-STANDISH-ebook/dp/B005NCUTAG/ref=pd_sim_kstore_29
The Victorian ghoul, Alice Wentworth, is clutching her gypsy love, Victor Standish, with sharp teeth bared.
Their world is dark. Their enemies foul and supernatural. Their love a beacon in the shadows. Their laughter their shield against despair.
Perhaps we do our teens no favor if we paint the world in false gilding of Pollyannish cliches. Perhaps we do them good if we show them
struggling teens combating the darkness with the light of sacrificial love and laughter thrown in the teeth of the wolves on the streets.
Closing our eyes does not make the evils disappear. Showing heroes who refuse to give in to the darkness and insist on finding laughter in their pain may be the best thing we can do.
What do you think?
RITES OF PASSAGE is FREE for TWO MORE DAYS!!
VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN CULTURE:
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/07/violence-in-american-culture.html
As Nathan says, there is a lot of violence in today's YA.
And the echoes of the gunshots and screams from that movie theater in Colorado murmur a question:
What do we endorse in our fiction?
Could movies like HOSTEL and SAW have been shown to nationwide audiences just decades ago?
Have we become desensitized to violence, to maiming helpless victims, to drive-by shootings in film?
The vigilante is the new HOT hero, especially if the crusader is a kick-ass woman in leather and stilleto heels.
Look at the covers of my two latest books, RITES OF PASSAGE (Now at #6!):
http://www.amazon.com/RITES-OF-PASSAGE-ebook/dp/B004XQVPYM
BURNT OFFERINGS:
http://www.amazon.com/BURNT-OFFERINGS-ebook/dp/B008N4QGA8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1343272025&sr=1-1&keywords=BURNT+OFFERINGS+ROLAND+YEOMANS
I tried for subdued hints of violence and mystery. It is a truth of human nature: we are drawn to the forbidden and the sensual.
The mysterious Greek physician, Lucanus, and Captain Samuel McCord are both reflective protagonists, chaffing at the violence and darkness in the hearts of those around them.
Luke Skywalker would not be so interesting without the ominous Darth Vadar.
Look at the cover of THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH:
http://www.amazon.com/THE-LEGEND-VICTOR-STANDISH-ebook/dp/B005NCUTAG/ref=pd_sim_kstore_29
The Victorian ghoul, Alice Wentworth, is clutching her gypsy love, Victor Standish, with sharp teeth bared.
Their world is dark. Their enemies foul and supernatural. Their love a beacon in the shadows. Their laughter their shield against despair.
Perhaps we do our teens no favor if we paint the world in false gilding of Pollyannish cliches. Perhaps we do them good if we show them
struggling teens combating the darkness with the light of sacrificial love and laughter thrown in the teeth of the wolves on the streets.
Closing our eyes does not make the evils disappear. Showing heroes who refuse to give in to the darkness and insist on finding laughter in their pain may be the best thing we can do.
What do you think?
RITES OF PASSAGE is FREE for TWO MORE DAYS!!
I agree. We should show that people can triumph over evil. I'd never put anything really dark in my books, but I do show characters overcoming challenges in the same style as Star Wars.
ReplyDeleteAlex:
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly. I read a book by an author I usually enjoy, but he spent so much time inside the head of the sadistic killer as he was killing that I skimmed through those sections to see how it ended ... but I stopped reading his books after that.
He has since changed, and I so I have started reading his newest novella which is a bit ragged but entertaining.
Thanks for buying each and every one of my books, Alex. It means a lot!
The new cover for RITES OF PASSAGE is amazing! I love it!!!
ReplyDeletePollyanna was cute. This world? Not so much. One of the popular things about Harry Potter was and is the dark undertone ever present. Harry was no Pollyanna. He didn't get to see the world in shades of rainbows. But when dealt the dark hand, he held light with his wand, good friends and the light of hope that made him and others overcomers of evil.
ReplyDeleteI've worked in the psych field since 1985 and seen my share of shtuff. One aspect of my counseling of others is dealing with parents who have kids who are troubled in one way or another. These parents feel like they failed their children. "But what about your other son? Didn't you say he was an awesome kid? You raised them both the same way didn't you?" Of course they did. Some parents protect. Others expose. Sometimes it doesn't matter what we do.
ReplyDeleteAs authors we need to write like we want and what we want. Do any of us really believe we have any control over anything in the world other than our own actions? I choose to read and write in a positive way. Was there death in my book? Yes. Bloody gore? No. IMO most of the sex I see on TV and in the movies could be left out and not affect the storyline at all. Sometimes we can't turn a blind eye to evil though.
Enough of my rant except I will admit that I have listened to the devil's music, "Heavy Metal", my entire life. Hmmm, never killed anyone though. Not gonna either.
Heather:
ReplyDeleteThanks. That means a lot coming from you.
Angela:
I was always angry at Dumbledore. He only paid lip service in being uncomfortable in placing Harry and his friends at risk. I believe his brother might have had a valid reason in being furious with him.
Michael:
It is not the music we listen to but the lessons we take from it that matter. I agree with you: we can only change ourselves. We must become the change we would see in the world.
Family counseling is so much harder than those on the outside seem to believe ... just as teaching is right now.
Thanks for visiting and caring enough to chat over the cyber-fence. Roland